Object-Oriented Test & Measurement Software Development in C++

22795-9 As long as there have been machines, engineers have been testing them. Today's object-oriented programming languages off unique advantages for devising and executing test routines for all types of instrumentation. This book introduces C++ concepts in a framework designed especially to suit the concerns of the test and measurement community. C++ allows software engineers to take advantage of these special object-oriented features: *Information hiding, which permits the creation of general-purpose routines that can be easily customized to specific instruments *Polymorphism, which allows the substitution of individual elements of the program without restructuring, and *Variable data types, which can contain all the information needed to perform a specific test. The book begins with a general overview of classical test systems: what they are, how they work, and how they are programmed. Parts 2 and 3 are at the heart of the book, describing the fundamentals of object-oriented programming and how they are applied to testing and measurement systems. Detailed descriptions are given for I/O control classes, instrument classes, and measurement and test classes.A complete working example of a C++ test system is provided. Advanced topics are offered for readers who want more detailed information on specific applications, and an appendix gives a proposal for creating a standard interface to instrument drivers in C++. Each chapter concludes with practical exercises, some have answers provided at the end of the book. The book and the enclosed Windows-compatible CD-ROM offer copious examples of real C++ code to illustrate the concepts. This book is intended for test and measurement engineers who are learning to develop object-oriented test applications. It presumes a familiarity with traditional test and measurement instrumentation and experience in some programming language, such as C. It is helpful to understand the basic concepts of object-oriented programming, though actual OO programming experience is not required.